Monthly Archives: April 2012

Two of my closest friends have weekly biscuits and gravy. We have not yet made it over there to Saturday morning tradition due to either working on the weekends or refusing to set an alarm, however, they are the inspiration for this post. Once I found out they were using prepackaged gear… I had to take matters into my own hands. Well, sort of, at least in my own kitchen. Normally when I make breakfast sandwiches I buy low-fat English muffins, HyVee brand. For $1.19 you get 5 whole muffins, pre-sliced, and only 90 calories a pop. (regular ones are 150-220 upon flavor/type variation) Although my egg and sausage puts any fast food menu to a shame, I have never made my own bread to put them on.

This happy Sunday morning…biscuits were made! If I were capable of punching myself in the kidneys..I would. These things are so flippin’ easy, I can’t believe that Pillsbury can charge 2-4 bucks for their varied types. It literally took me 3 minutes to mix up, and 12 minutes in the oven. They were perfectly amount of flakey, but not dry. Middle moist, but not undercooked. Per being on a lower fat/carb diet I’ve been limiting myself on almost….everything. Also, these are nearly impossible to screw up… biscuits for dummies.

Confession: My dear friend Adam has been educating me on a weekly basis of everything I need to be doing to shed those last 10lbs that working out has not been able to provide. Because this topic is something he went to school for and graduated with a degree in, I just stopped arguing and started listening. (This doesn’t mean I haven’t kicked my feet and complained a bit here and there). To my surprise or pride killing information…. I thought I knew a lot…turns out… I knew, very, VERY, very LITTLE. I refuse to go on any crash diet, (so early 2000’s, plus, it comes right back) and I want to be able to incorporate normal life living along with this whole deal. It’s really about counting those calories. Crossing T’s and dotting I’s by being accountable with what you eat.

I’ve been using Myfitnesspal app to document absolutely every calorie and piece of exercise. Interesting how much more you become aware of what you’re putting into your body and it’s content when you document it and really note the levels of fat, carbs, sodium, ect. Although it’s been a tough first week. I’m down 2lbs, and the ol’ jeans are already easier to button. Boji trip is in a couple of weeks and Bridget and I need to swim ready- even if it only involves sunbathing! (water will still be cold!)

Anyway, so I made very simple biscuits: no more butter than required, no salt, no garlic. I can’t wait to play around with these more in the future. I think asparagus or avocado infused biscuits sound amazing to try!

Here’s the recipe, in mine, you’ll notice they didn’t turn as pretty brown as normal biscuits…this was because I didn’t add the extra butter on top before baking them. But feel free to do so to get the beautiful golden brown look! I made some breakfast sausage, egg, and siracha and piled up my sandwiches! Mines were mini’s so I was able to take one normal egg, and cut it in half and share it between the two biscuits. These are a must try!!

Mix the first five ingredient. Then cut in the butter, I don’t have a pastry cutter so I usually just crumble with my hands until the butter is pea sized.

Then, make a well in the center and pour in the milk. Incorporate until you have a consistent dough. It’s almost impossible to over-mix these-

Flour your working surface (countertop, table, etc) and roll the dough out to1-2 inch thick (too thin and they won’t rise enough). Cut straight down, don’t twist, with a biscuit form or a small-mouthed cup. The size doesn’t matter too much, it’s up to you how big you want them to be.

Throw down some parchment paper then place biscuits on. Brush the top with a little melted butter. They will bake at 450 F for 10-12 minutes (8-10 if smaller) until just golden brown.

Per usual, I make or find a recipe that seems intriguing and then I can’t jump off its horse until I’ve killed the ingredient or theme. This weeks issue…APPLES. As the summer season starts to ripen, the produce isles are glowing with amazing, bright, and fresh color. Although I’m still on the butt-loss program to no avail, I’ve been trying to still make things with the least amount of fat and calories as possible. So to make myself feel better, and to start using all that pretty produce, it’s been apple week.

Confession TIME: I really don’t like Granny Smiths. I never have. It’s always been my Dad’s go-to apple, but never mine. Just too bitter for my tastebuds, so I really had to suck it up at the store because nearly every apple recipe I scrounged for called for these green devils. FINE, I’ll do it. Thank goodness baking them takes out the bite that gives me ‘bitter beer face’.

I was blog surfing last night and came across a few variations of this Apple Cake. From what I could tell it seems like at one point there was an original one from Martha Stewart, and it has been primped, prodded, and accommodated to each individual kitchen since then.

Arranged apples, almonds, cinnamon and sugar

Don’t be afraid by the long recipe list. In reality it took me longer to slice the apple then to mix all the ingredients together and put them in the pan. Confession part two….I totally duped on this recipe by not reading the directions closer, and put the apples on the bottom of the pan instead of placing them on the top. So really this became my apple upside down cake! I’ll have to try it the other way next time and see what it doe to the apple. When I pulled it out, I flipped it over and the apples looked a little mooshy, so I put it on pan then broiled it for a couple minutes and crisped them up. Seemed to work (shrugs shoulders). Sometimes mistakes turn into the best new accidental ideas!

This post baked, but preflipped!

Here’s the original recipe, but I’ll include here what I did with my measurements and steps as well. I brought this for a work food day, but to be honest, I hid it a bit in hopes of it all not being taken, I was able to save some and put a big whole piece into my yogurt and it was great mixed!

3 Granny Smiths thinly sliced and peeled
handful of almonds to sprinkle over the apples

Place parchment paper along the bottom of a 9inch springform pan then spray it with non stick spray. Arrange the sliced apples along the bottom, then sprinkle the almonds over the top. Use your cinnamon/sugar shaker and shake the crap out of it until desired. (I did this at the end too after I flipped and baked it again)

Mix the dry and liquid ingredient in separate bowls. Whisk each well then combine them together with a spatula. (the batter will be really thick) Spread over the top of the apple slices and bake for 40-45 minutes at 350.

Take out of the oven and flip the cake over on a oven safe pan, sprinkle additional almonds and a tablespoon of brown sugar over the top. Broil for 5 minutes or until the top is crisp but not burned … you’ll need to watch it, every oven is different.

So I’ve been on this insane breakfast kick recently. Not just a kick, a fascination really at this point. I’ve decided that breakfast belongs in its own ‘main’ category, not a ‘meal’ category. Breakfast is a meal. A main, is Italian, Mexican, Portuguese, British, Breakfast. See… it’s awkward, but it works. Like any main, you can combine it with anything and it works! Any protein, any vegetable, any grain, any cheese. Bam!

My fascination sub-category as of recent is French Toast. Not that I’ve gotten over eggs, but French Toast has been on my mind constantly. If I still didn’t have to be at work till 9 like I used to, you better believe I’d be dining like a queen every morning! I found this recipe a few weeks ago but wanted to wait for my work Saturdays to bring it since it serves so many.

Pumpkin French Toast: I’m so glad that I’ve jumped off my pumpkin high horse and joined the cool kids pumpkin gang. I used to be quite anti-pumpkin until I started experimenting with it. Pumpkin Pie is ok, but I only ever need a very small piece once a year to be satisfied. When I think pumpkin, even still, my mind goes straight to thinking it will take over a dish like the pie… but in reality it’s only ever added great flavor, and even more so moisture to anything I’ve used it with. All the same reasons why I love baking with yogurt.

Confession: So although I love breakfast, I hate getting up early. You think I’d be used it by now having to wake up before 6am. When it’s my Saturday work rotation the only reason I really hate it is because 1. I’m there too much anyways 2. I don’t get to sleep in. In haste I try to find something that will allow me as much sleep in as possible, or something I can make the night before and bring in. Thank goodness I only have to do this for one out of the two Saturdays in a row.

This recipe bakes for 30 minutes, but it only takes 10 minutes to put together, so this is not only a winning quick breakfast casserole, but it’s kinda fancy 🙂 Apparently this variation is often used around the holidays for breakfast. Makes sense.

Originally used from Picky Palate, she used french bread and cut it into slices, but I just had whole grain wheat and it worked great. I think I ended up using 6-7 slices and ripping them up into fourths. Whatever looks good in the pan, and soaks up enough bread.

I also used about half the called for butter because it totally freaked me out…anytime I can use less butter….I will.

This is a definite must try!! Perfect for holidays or any family get together when you want to try something upscale without really having trying to hard. I think this is going to be one of the first of many French Toast trials….can’t wait!

2. Place sliced bread into prepared baking dish. Place eggs and milk into a large baking dish. Add pumpkin, brown sugar and cinnamon. Whisk to combine then pour over bread. Press bread into egg mixture assuring each piece of bread is covered in eggs. I used my cinnamon/sugar shaker and went to town over the top before placing dollops of cubed butter over top.